A massive embezzlement of Rs 122 crore has been unearthed at New India Cooperative Bank, leading to the arrest of three individuals, including two former senior executives of the bank. The fraud came to light during an inspection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at the bank’s Prabhadevi branch in Mumbai.
According to Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the bank’s cash-in-hand records showed Rs 122.028 crore in the Prabhadevi branch safe, despite its actual storage capacity being only Rs 10 crore. However, during the RBI’s visit on February 11, only Rs 60 lakh was found in the vault. The Goregaon branch, which had a storage limit of Rs 10 crore, was found to contain Rs 10.53 crore.
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The EOW is investigating why auditors failed to detect the missing funds despite multiple audits conducted between 2019 and 2024. Representatives from several auditing firms have been summoned for questioning. The initial audit was conducted by M/s Sanjay Rane Associates, whose partner Abhijeet Deshmukh has been under interrogation for the past four days. Another partner, Sanjay Rane, has now been called to record his statement.
Among those arrested are the bank’s former CEO, Abhimanyu Bhoan, ex-general manager Hitesh Mehta, and real estate developer Dharmesh Paun. Authorities believe Bhoan, who signed all audit reports, was aware of the misappropriation.
Following the fraud, the RBI has superseded the bank’s board for a year and appointed an administrator to oversee its operations. The EOW has also registered a case under sections 316(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal breach of trust and conspiracy.